Laparoscopic weight loss surgery procedures are a best bet for those looking to lose weight using bariatric surgical treatment option.

Laparoscopy consists of using a laparoscope, a small, pencil sized medical instrument that is inserted into the body as a mini video camera.

Once placed in the body, it is able to transmit what it sees onto a monitor in the operating room. It is also referred to as key hole surgery.

When used in weight loss surgeries, surgeons can work inside the body of a patient using smaller incisions. Smaller incisions not only mean saving a patient from having one large opening, it also means a faster recovery time and little scarring. Any weight loss surgery referred to as minimally invasive typically means it is performed using a laparoscopic procedure.

Keyhole weight loss surgery or lap weight loss surgery, as laparoscopic weight loss surgery is also called, can be applied to virtually all types of weight loss surgery. So, what are the options, advantages and disadvantages of laparoscopic surgery?

Let's investigate this.

Laparoscopic Weight Loss Surgery: The Options

Laparoscopic weight loss surgery is now the preferred surgical option for virtually all weight loss surgery. This obesity keyhole surgery can be applied in:

Of these procedures, laparoscopic gastric band (also called Lap Band) and laparoscopic gastric bypass is more popular. Let's briefly describe what Lap band surgery involve.

Lap Band

Lap band surgery or laparoscopic gastric band surgery is by far the most common weight loss surgery preferred and performed worldwide. Lap band weight loss surgery consists of a prosthetic device that is implanted around the top of a patient's stomach.

Once the device is secured, it is inflated using a silicone or saline solution. This creates a smaller pouch for food intake. The entire process is completed using a laparoscope.

Because of the banding around the top of the stomach, the patient feels "filled" up quickly with lesser amount of food - usually a fist size amount of meal. This is truly a minimally invasive weight loss procedure.

Many opt for the lap band procedure specifically because it is completed within an hour and on an outpatient basis.

Though the lap band surgery itself will require individuals to take it easy for approximately six weeks, the small incisions allow patients to be back on their feet within a week. There is less soreness involved and less chance for infection.

Advantages of Laparoscopic Weight Loss Surgery

More and more patient chose laparoscopic weight loss surgery for the following advantages:

They are less painful procedure

Less scaring

Less bleeding complications and less need for blood transfusion

Less risk of infection

Less need for long days in hospital (1 day for lap band , no more than 2-4 days for uncomplicated gastric bypass)

Less risk for hernia developing after the procedure

Disadvantages of Lap Weight Loss Surgery

The disadvantage are very few if any. The only disadvantage lies in a very prolonged operating time on the table. But this prolonged operating time is dramatically reduced in the hands of very experienced weight loss surgeons.
The techniques preformed in laparoscopic surgery and traditional open surgery are exactly the same; however, many surgeons that perform laparoscopic weight loss surgery procedures feel the risk reduction, infection rates and other advantages offered by laparoscopic bariatric surgery is superior.

Open surgeries, such as those used in gastric bypass, can leave a scar anywhere from five to seven inches long. In addition, they can sometimes interfere with breathing or lung function. Hernias are a common side effect as well.